Ahhh this is tough for me b/c I like to have drinks, not just in social settings but while home unwinding from the day. When I used to binge on food, I'd binge on alcohol too... I'd figure since I was stuffing myself silly with fatty food and getting a 'high' from it, I might as well get a buzz on too. Only I needed a lot of alcohol to get that buzz since I was eating so much... sometimes 2 bottles of wine or more.
So when I got back on track I considered giving up alcohol completely, but I would rather learn to enjoy it in moderation, and without binging on food after. It's hard but here are some things that help me!
In social situations, I plan for a high calorie day, even a very high calorie day if need be, b/c food is an issue too at parties etc. I'll save most of my days calories, and lower my cals for a few days before the event. I try not to overeat b/c I like to get a buzz, and it's hard to do with a full stomach. The more food I eat, the more alcohol I'm likely to consume and vice versa. I try not to just "give up" and just eat and drink the night away....
My problem is that I like to drink wine at home to relax, usually while reading or watching tv, and inevitably I'd wind up raiding the fridge at midnight. So I set up some guidelines- 1) I give myself a certain time I can start having drinks, usually not until 9 or later, since that gives me a shorter time before I go to bed, and less time to drink means less drinks. 2) I plan to have a snack or even a small meal while drinking, I don't usually expect myself to not eat ANYTHING (that's setting myself up for failure), but when I do- 3) I only drink upstairs in my bedroom if I don't have cals left for food, for some reason I think of my bedroom as a 'no eating' zone, I don't really even think about food there. I'll read or watch TV there and just fall asleep, with no temptation to eat. 4) I'll bargain with myself, for example tonight I can have a couple of glasses of wine IF I exercise for at least 30 minutes first. Or I can drink however many calories I burn... for 2 glasses I'd need to burn 200 cals. 5) I don't drink with dinner, b/c I figure savoring the food is enough for that time and I'll save another time to savor a drink. Plus if I eat at 6, I'll want to continue having drinks until bed which is a long time!
I drink almost every Fri and Sat night, I just try to drink slowly and not let myself go and get into "binge mode". I find I can get buzzed from 2-3 drinks now if I had a light dinner earlier and even if I have a snack with my drinks. 3 drinks and a large snack is usually about 600 calories for me, not too much if I've only eaten 800 cals up until that point. For me it's all about planning.
I don't do shots b/c I find that sipping a drink for while is better than downing a shot and 5 minutes later being ready for another. That's just my mentality though, for some it's better calorie wise I'm sure.
Good luck, hope that helps a bit!
